Explosion at Amsterdam Jewish school was 'deliberate attack', mayor says

AMSTERDAM, March 14 (Reuters) - An ‌explosion caused ​minor ​damage to a Jewish school in Amsterdam early on Saturday, in what the city's mayor described ‌as "a deliberate attack against the Jewish community".

The explosion ⁠at the school in an upscale residential neighbourhood on the south ‌side of Amsterdam damaged a ‌rainpipe and charred an outer wall. It caused no injuries.

Mayor Femke Halsema said the incident was being taken ​very seriously and would lead to increased security at Jewish institutions.

"This is a cowardly act of aggression against ⁠the Jewish community," Halsema said.

"Jewish people in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. ​This is unacceptable."

The school is the only one specifically for orthodox Jews in the Netherlands, and ​is largely fenced off by ‌a pointed, metal outer wall due to earlier threats.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten called Saturday's ⁠attack "horrible" and said it understandably caused fear and anger in the Jewish community.

"The safety of Jewish institutions has our full attention," ⁠he said in a post on X.

Security at synagogues and Jewish ​institutions in the Dutch capital had already been heightened after an overnight arson attack at a synagogue in the centre of Rotterdam on ‌Friday.

In neighbouring Belgium, an explosion caused a fire at a synagogue in Liege on ‌Monday.

Concerns about possible attacks against Jewish communities around the world ⁠have risen following U.S. ‌and Israeli attacks on ​Iran and a subsequent response from Tehran.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Tom Hogue and Toby ‌Chopra)

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